The weather for the 38th running of Grandma’s Marathon was reminiscent of the 1981 race in which Dick Beardsley set a course record of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds. Beardsley, who joined the WEBC radio broadcast team this year, remarked on how the weather helped him set this record, which stood for 33 years – until today.

Excitement built as Kenyan Dominic Ondoro pulled away from the pack and built a pace to keep Beardsley’s record in reach. As Ondoro worked his way along the final leg of the course, it was apparent that he would be able to eclipse the 33-year record, coming in at 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 6 seconds – 31 seconds faster than Beardsley’s record.

After Ondoro crossed the finish line, he and Beardsley met, exchanging words and an embrace. Beardsley commented how he couldn’t believe that it took 33 years for his course record to fall. When asked if he aspired to break the record, Ondoro said it was his goal entering the race.

In a posting on the Grandma’s Marathon website that was published before the weekend’s race (see full transcript here), Beardsley expressed his disbelief in how long the record had stood, saying:

It is hard to believe that the record has stood for 30 years, the record and the race mean the world to me. Someone just last month wrote me and said it is the longest standing record for a major marathon.

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